Improvement in razor-strops



UNITED OLIVER B. HOWARD, OF WESTBROOK, MAINE.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAZOR-STROPS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 117,421, dated July 25,1871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OLIVER B. HOWARD, of Westbrook, in the county ofCumberland and State of Maine, have invented a new and useful ImprovedRaZor-Strop 5 and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact descriptionof the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is aside elevation; Fig. 2, the same with the razor-case inserted; Fig. 3, adetail of part of the strap with the leather' cover broken out to showthe metal band or strip underneath.

Same letters show like parts.

My invention has for its object to provide a new and improvedrazor-strop.

The construction may be thus described: a shows the leather or strop onwhich the razor is rubbed backward and forward to produce the edge onthe same. This isl shown in edge View, and passes over the plate b andc. Underneath the leather strap a is the endless metal band k, (see Fig.3,) the office of which is to relieve the leather of the tension. dshows the handle of the strop e, a rod extending` from the handlethrough the plate b, and having a screw, f, at the other end to t andscrew into a threaded hole in the plate c. The rod @merely passesthrough the plate b, and has on the inner side the nut or shoulder h tobear against the plate b. The rod can be turned around by the handle d,and, when thus turned in one direction, will, by the screw f, pushoutwardly the plate c, and when the direction of the tnrningis reversedwill draw back the plate c. The former motion tightens, the latterslackens the leather or strop e. This is the purpose of the arrangement.The screw f, as shown, ts into a socket in the nut fi. The strop e ismade of a proper kind of leather, surrounding the zinc or thin metalstrip, illustrated at la, Fig. 3. This prevents wrinkling andstretching.

The strop may be enveloped in the case, as common. m shows a razor-caseiittin g iiiv between the two parts of the strop c as it passes aroundthe two plates b and c, and resting against the rod e to prevent itsslipping' through. One case may thus be applied on each side of the rode, and then the whole encased in the common cover. A separate orndependent razor-ease is thus done away with, and the case will also aidin keeping the strop from yieldin g too much when the razor is beingsharpened.

I am aware of the Letters Patent issued to Charles L. Fowle, and of therejected case of F. L. Schmidt, iled April 27, 1869. These twospecifications show and describe devices diiierin g from mine in twoimportant particulars. First, they `have no metal sheet or strip aroundwhich the leather or the strop is wound. Without this, when the strop isto be tightened by forcing out the piece t', the leather would stretchand soon become so loose as to be wholly useless. This liability themetal strip prevents. Second, the two references do not embrace thearrangement for placing the razor-cases into the strop, as in Fig. 2, soas to make the strop a stiff or hard one when desired. I do not claimthe combination of a handle, center-brace, nut, and shoulders, as inSchmidts application 5 neither do I claim the combination of a doubleconcave piece, screw-block, and endless band, as in Fowles patent.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The arrangement and combination of the handle d, strap c composed ofleather, and the metal band 7c, as described, plates b and c, rode,shoulder h, screw j', and piece i with its threaded hole, as herein setforth.

OLIVER B. HOWARD. Witnesses:

WILLIAM HENRY CLIFFORD, GEoRGE E. BIRD.

